Through Love and Exams
by Ace Grey
Summary: It's the year after Naruto leaves, a year into the 3 year time-skip between the regular series and Shippuden. What happens in these ninjas between two thoughtful crushes and a brutal chance to become a chuunin. What will one do for power? NejiTen. GORE.
1. The Big News

TenTen swung an immediate kick and Rock Lee ducked then caught her heel and threw her. She landed on both arms and did a cartwheel away from Lee. Lee smirked and jumped into the air and speed towards her. She knew that he wasn't that good at changing directions so she threw a bunch of kunai where he was going and immediately he stopped where he was hit.

"I always hit my mark!" TenTen says this while shaking her forehead protector gently and smirked again while she took out a flurry of boomerangs with exploding tags. She slid backwards and jumped and threw the four boomerangs around Lee as it exploded fully and Lee was bounded into the air as he fell to his knees, blood trickling from his mouth.

Lee got up and took out the kunai and wiped the blood from his mouth and looked at TenTen. "GREAT MY YOUTHFUL TEAMMATE! WE WILL USE THE POWER OF THE YOUTH WITH YOUTFUL WEAPONS!" Lee screamed while embracing TenTen in a hug and running around with her. Neji looked along and smirked as he leaned back against a tree. "Hn."

TenTen pushed off Lee and went towards the shade of a tree, right next to Neji as she sat with her legs crossed. She looked up at Neji and smiled at him, and he was looking the other way. TenTen had feelings for her teammate, but she didn't show them, at least she didn't think that she did. She sighed and looked around towards Lee who was running around with Gai.

She fidgeted nervously and decided to start some conversation with Neji and chuckled. She looked up towards Neji. "Hey, whats up lately?" Neji looked down on her, rolled his eyes and turned back to what he was focusing at. "Hn." He said this and focused on the squirrel that was climbing up the tree and he looked back at TenTen with his Byukugan, sighing.

He really did like her, the way she threw a kunai, the way she ran. The way that she used her weapons was all beautiful. She was one great kunoichi, but his pride wouldn't let him admit the fact that he liked her. He was always watching her with his Byukugan, that didn't make him a stalker did it? GAH! He was acting more and more like Hinata every day.

Eventually, this awkward silence went on more for twenty minutes until Gai and Lee eventually came towards them and Lee jumped up and ran up the tree and sat on the branch as Gai gave his good guy pose. The rest of the team chuckled as Gai stopped. He put both hands on his hips and looked at his team. "As you know, it's been a year since the last Chuunin Exams. We all know that Neji got the final rounds, and lost to Naruto. Lee and TenTen, you lost in the preliminaries to the Sand ninja respectively."

They all remembered the chuunin exams greatly, and TenTen vowed that she will beat that Temari as she has been focusing on a bunch of new moves and weapons weren't her only jutsu now. She smirked and Neji just nodded, knowing that Naruto was gone and this was definitely going to pass the chuunin exams if that was what he was implying. Rock Lee jumped up and down and landed on the ground. "I'm ready!"

Gai looked on at his students. "Well, this Chuunin Exams are being held in the Land of Snow and we have decided to give in only TEN teams from the Hidden Leaf Village. Since Sasuke and Naruto are gone, Sakura is entering in with Chouji and Ino, since Shikamaru got chuunin already.."

They all nodded and were excited and ready for the exams. "Effectively, you guys were chosen as one of the teams and we are sure to get all of you Chuunin. You all know that the sand ninja are going to be there again so prepare. I know all of you have some new techniques, especially the youthful flower TenTen!" TenTen blushed to a deep red state at this comment as all of her blood rushed to her cheeks from embarrassment.

"The Land of Snow possesses an unusually advanced level of technology when compared to other countries in the _Ninja _world. Things such as railroads, airships, power generators, and volley guns are commonplace here, though the latter fired salvos of kunai instead of bullets. Additionally, their ninja wear special chakra armor that makes them virtually immune to ninjutsu and genjutsu."

Gai went on with his history rambling. "Well, before you knew it, the snow melted and it was changed to the Land of Spring, but effectively, a jutsu was cast and recently the snow was changed back and everything was the same. Although they are small, they do have this Mountain Range in the outer part of the country that they are willing to sacrifice for the exams. Their version of the Forest of Death is some snow forest."

They all nodded and knew that the chuunin exams were in some time and they all had to do this. Gai made a last comment. "It's an island remember, so we have to leave in two weeks, because it's in a month and it's a six day travel and I want you guys to get used to the conditions as well." They all nodded and Gai was off.

Neji, the team captain looked at everybody else. "Okay, I know this is not usual for us to go to foreign lands. We never went to the Snow Country, but we will be going to the Hakueri Mountain Range. The Hyuuga Head warned me and Hinata about this and if I face Hinata, I have to immediately give up to protect her. Also, you guys need to train some new techniques.

They all nodded and looked at each other, knowing that this was a big thing to do. They had to go to the Snow Country and be able to become Chuunin or possibly not pass at all. This was all a test for them.

xXx

TenTen stood in the training grounds, it was the day before they left and she needed to perfect the jutsu. She had nobody waiting at home because she was an orphan, and nobody knew who her parents and she was left in the village and decided to become a shinobi. She sighed and she had to perfect this the best way she can.

She had this perfect idea with weapons and her element that she was trying to create, and it was lightning infused. She sighed and sat down and opened her scroll, she really needed to train this lightning technique for the chuunin exams. She needed to master it and learn it for the battle rounds and her new secret technique. She took a deep breath and read.

Lightning Release techniques are jutsu that convert the user's chakra into electricity. Because of this, they require great deal of chakra to be performed. Lightning Release techniques are fast-moving, easily able to pierce matter, and tend to numb the target. They weren't common in Konahagakure ninja and she wanted Sasuke to teach her Chidori sometime, but it wouldn't work.

When used in conjunction with metal based weapons, the power becomes amplified. Lightning is good for middle to long-range attacks. She really needed to convert this into a jutsu. Using metal wires to control boomerangs, she channeled lightning chakra through the wires and the boomerangs became infused with lightning and almost like a lightning bolt themselves. This was with the use of Lightning Chakra channel.

She channeled the lightning chakra to her hand as it filled her palm and she decided to create this into an even newer technique as she began to push her palm forward with the lightning chakra over and over again as she eventually formed a defensive wall and she thrusted her palm forward as the lightning chakra rapidly pushed forward towards a tree.

The tree was hit by the lightning and immediately crumbled into the wood particles and again it continued, but weakened in powers as it hit another two trees that turned into a bunch of wood particles. She smiled at this technique, although she didn't develop a true weapon combination, she still had this to feed back on, although it did train a lot of her chakra. She fell to her knees and coughed.

She got up again and pulled out some scrolls and looked at the markings for the weapon that she needed and pressed the markings and in a cloud of smoke created two eight meter chains and she held them at one end as the other ends had kunai tied to them. The kunai blades were connected into the tree bark.

She quickly channeled some chakra through the chains as an electrical discharge was shown for a second but then it rapidly channeled through the chains and the tree had a sudden surge of electrical chakra through it and it immediately turned to crumbling wood as she controlled the chains without being hurt by the electrical discharge now.

The chains were rapidly flying around at all the trees as they all surged around and formed too many pieces of wood. Eventually, the electrical discharge was stopped and the chains were like regular chains and TenTen fell to her knees, panting. Those two jutsu alone took a lot of chakra out of her. She released her buns and continued to pant.

She eventually fell back and looked at the stars and smiled. She was going to own in the chains.

**----**

**XO Don't own Naruto.**


	2. Arrival of Rivals

**TenTen silently stood on the boat that was taking them to the Land of Snow. She was outside on the deck in the waters and they were just leaving the Hidden Mist Village, or the Water Country, to pick up the last of the people that were going to the Chuunin Exams.**

**Her two brown buns were getting blown form at the wind, but the senbon that kept her hair into place did it's job. Although her bangs that framed her face perfectly, split at the middle perfect. She kept it like this because it didn't get in her face, which was essential for a ninja.**

**Since they were going near the Land of Snow, the waters and wind were getting quite harsh. On the deck, the winds blew into her face and her senbon was starting to show as she placed it back. She liked looking at the waves come and go, it calmed her down.**

**She wore a white buttoned up shirt that was short sleeved as well. She then wore tight black pants with black boots with a slight heel in them. This was her leisure outfit for now, her actual battle gear outfits were in her bag back in the room. She had on a green scarf with the black Konaha symbol on the back of it. **

**She wore it like a jacket and had it wrapped around her arms and it went down, mostly covering her shirt as she moved closer towards the end of the boat. She watched the waves and quickly counted the wave currents and their frequency, smiling as she did so.**

**This boat started from the Country of Lightning and Hidden Cloud Village, then the Country of Fire and Hidden Leaf Village. Eventually, it picked up people from Hidden Mist in the Country of and they were docking from the thick mist. Other villages took other boats.**

**She was slightly annoyed by the fact that it was going to be a long traveling trip, from Kirigakure no Sato. It would take an estimated three days to get there, and it was already two days from Konahagakure no Sato to Kirigakure no Sato, and she was growing anxious.**

**She looked around and up came Chouji, Ino and Sakura instead of Shikamaru. She heard that Shikamaru was coming as one of the Chuunin Ambassadors from Konahagakure, but she hasn't seen him at all during the trip. TenTen leaned over the sides and looked down into the water.**

"**TenTen, something's wrong?" Sakura asked as her team went on but she stopped to stand next to TenTen who took a deep breath and looked towards her peer. "I was just wondering…" she said while taking out a blade. She was about to say something, a secret. "I-I….umm…dropped my other blade in the water while doing practice."**

**Sakura nodded and decided to leave it alone as she knew it was just wrong, but her recent training with Tsunade would probably do her some justice. As she went to catch up with the rest of the team, she looked back at TenTen one more before leaving from the area.**

**TenTen fiddled with her wakizashi carefully and eventually got tired from all of this and quickly turned around to go back onto the boat. She decided to get some training done and maybe have a practice spar, or do some target practice. But she didn't want to give up all of her abilities just yet. **

**As she quickly got onto the inner part of the boat, she got onto a staircase and remembered her room was on the 3rd**** floor, one floor above the Deck. But she decided to get some dinner as she immediately turned left and that's where she bumped into somebody.**

**The person looked down on her and TenTen looked up to see the girls forehead protector around her neck like a necklace. It had the symbol of Kirigakure and she had thick black hair tied into a ponytail tied into a long ponytail and cold, dark blue eyes.**

**This girl wore a yellow strapless and sleeveless shirt that just wrapped around her body, going right below her arms. She had a long black stripe that went down the shirt and connected to the pants. The pants were full black and it looked like a dress, although it wasn't. She had on knee-high black leather boots.**

**She wore a fake smile which turned into an immediate smirk, that followed into an evil grin. "STOP WITH THE FACIAL EXPRESSIONS!" yelled TenTen from the ground as the girl continued to look at her for a second. TenTen got onto her knees as the girl looked at her crouched down and shoved her back down.**

**TenTen got up and brushed herself off as the girl continued to stare. "Hhmph. All you Konaha ninja think you are all that. You can't do anything, I reckon that blade is your only weapon. I can probably break through that easily, depends what type of metal." TenTen looked at her and reckoned it was her Kekkei Gankei.**

**TenTen immediately jumped towards her and threw a punch, which she expected and dodged but she didn't see the real attack, a spinning heel kick. TenTen nailed her in the gut and she coughed but grabbed TenTen's heel and gripped it with her nails.**

**Jerking TenTen's foot towards her, she then threw it back with all her might and force, causing TenTen to go off balance and eventually flip over and fall onto all fours. TenTen wiped her bangs and leaped up and threw a palm towards the girl, who stopped it with her arm and threw a fist.**

**TenTen held up six senbon, three from each hands. They stood in the spaces in between her fingers as if they were claws. She lunged towards Hong Mei Ling who gasped at TenTen's speed and had no time to do anything but take the hit. But as TenTen pierced the senbon into her, she was afraid that she killed her.**

**Suddenly her body disappeared into rope, a replacement technique and TenTen turned around to meet one of Hong Mei's arms with her claws, putting it with her flesh as the girl dropped to her knees and swung a leg, tripping TenTen over as she got up and rubbed her blood. TenTen got up as well and fixed the senbon in her hair.**

**TenTen spat at her and walked past as the girl shoved her into the wall. "I'm Hong Mei Ling, and don't forget it." She said with a fake smile as TenTen took out a kunai and threw it, but immediately the girl caught it with a reverse grip and stuck it in her hair. "Thanks." snapped Hong as TenTen went into dinner.**

**TenTen walked into the dining hall to find a bunch of people there already. She looked up at the clock to see that it was fifteen minutes past the dinner time and probably that Hong Mei Ling girl finished her portions already. She looked around to spot a group of Konaha nin with a spare seat. She only saw Sakura's pink hair and Rock Lee's shiny bowl-cut.**

**She quickly went up to the front where they were serving foods and she quickly took a plate and a small bowl, in case she wanted some fruits. Taking a pair of chopsticks, she placed them on the side of her tray as she patiently waited until she got to the trays of food.**

**She quickly took six pieces of sushi, but without rice. They were fish pieces wrapped around in lettuce leaves and dipped into a marinated soy sauce. She then also had a big bunch of rice, drizzled in a soft soy sauce as well. She took a bowl of cubed fruit as well.**

**She waited in line for some Jasmine tea patiently as she glanced to the left and glanced to the right. She finally got to the line and saw that the tea had only a bit left, so she did everybody a favor and poured everything in a tea cup before scurrying off to occupy a seat.**

**XXX**

**After dinner, everybody had a crepe or two to finish off with dessert, or maybe some extra sugared tea, but everybody had something and they were excited to be going at a great rate and they would be in Yukigakure by tomorrow, and the exams will start the day directly after that.**

**Everybody was going to their rooms as TenTen quickly walked up the stairs as she took a deep breath and turned the corner of the third floor. 311...312...313..314. That was her room as she quickly took out her special key kunai. She smiled and put it in.**

**They were given special key kunai, that were shaped perfectly for the designated for that door. She turned the kunai and quickly took notice to the shape as she opened the door and walked in, not focusing to anything else and inspecting the kunai. She might be able to keep this, if she snuck it.**

**She placed it back in the kunai holster to find herself face to face with Neji Hyuuga whose face was buried in a book on the only recliner that their room provided. She yawned and turned around to see Lee and Gai not back yet, probably went back in for some training.**

**She quickly went towards the book-case and went for a book when Neji hit her hand. She went for another book and Neji pushed away her hand. She quickly went for one book, which Neji swiftly dodged and made a diversion and grabbed another book, quickly diving to her bed as Neji caught her and took the books.**

"**WHY!?! There are only twelve books here and you won't let me read any you selfish jerk!" Neji looked up at her. "GO AHEAD AND READ THEM! I was trying to warn you that there are traps in those books trying to kill you. This was the one that could easily be disarmed. The other's can't. Somebody forged our key, or used a jutsu to get in here. Even with the chakra protectors on the wall…"**

**Neji carefully nodded and looked towards his female teammate with a look of worry on his face. Luckily for his Byukugan, he couldn't fall for none of these amateur tricks but it was simply complex on the inside, and this was the only one he could disarm.**

**TenTen took out her blade and quickly pierced the blade into a book. Neji looked along as the chakra system of that book turned into a cloud of smoke. "Shadow Clones…now I know!" Eventually, they all kicked out the books as Lee and Gai jumped into the room, exhausted.**

**Eventually, they got through all the books to see that it was a Genjutsu cast on them. After they released it, they decided to have a team meeting around the fire. Everybody sat there around the fire and Neji gave a simple smirk as Gai began discussing plans. **

**They went over nearly everything, what they will do in the test, examples on how to help each other if it was similar to the year before when they took it. They discussed what happened in the last exams and how none of them passed. Also, Gai was training Lee who developed new moves. Nobody knew of TenTen's lightning element though.**

**Neji stood up as Gai went off to the Jounin meeting and as team captain, they were going to discuss some things. After quickly discussing game plans and their strengths and weaknesses, they also gave each other their jutsu's, but TenTen obviously lied to hide her elemental status.**

**Before they knew it, they were going to go to bed. Although TenTen remained up, as she couldn't sleep for some reason. The beds were set up as two bunk beds, across from a fireplace in the center. Between the bunk beds were a night table with candles and other essential needs.**

**There was a table pushed to the right side opposite of the door, right next to the bookcase and the recliner chair. The door was on the left side and next to it was a mini fridge and perched on a table was a microwave. Under the bunk beds were two long drawers to place items and clothing. **

**TenTen had the top of one bunk, with Neji on the bottom. Lee had the top of the other and Gai-sensei on the bottom. Lee and Gai were sleeping and snoring as well. She didn't hear a sound from Neji and she peeked her head under to see Neji sleeping soundly. This is where TenTen solemnly dozed off to sleep.**


	3. The Day Before

The members of Team Gai carefully traveled through the snow as they were finding their way to the apartment they were given for their time at the Chuunin Exams. The first part of the exams were tomorrow, and they were coming back from a fierce training session with sparring.

Meanwhile, Gai gave all his team a special gift to use on the chuunin exams. He gave Lee the basics to a new technique that he just created. He gave Neji special goggles that he could use without activating Byukugan that allowed him to see behind him. He gave TenTen a large scroll that contained hundreds of weapons, which she now wears on her back.

They were given special wardrobe changes to match the cold weather that was in Land of Snow. It included cloaks, capes, scarves, gloves and everything. As soon as they got off of the ship they were given this to change as their current outfits would cause them to freeze to death.

Lee and Gai were wearing thick green sweaters, like their old outfits but even thicker. They had the matching pants and the leg warmers as well. They refused to wear the caps because of their hair. Also, the outfit included orange gloves and an orange scarf. They had on orange boots.

Neji wore a wool white sweater with a hood, that he had on now and then. He had crème colored pants, similar to his shorts. Although they were made of thicker material and went down to his feet. He had on black boots along with a crème scarf and matching gloves.

TenTen had a white long-sleeve shirt that went down to her gold colored gloves. Over the white long sleeved shirt was her usual pink vest, containing a thicker material. She had on a golden cape along with her usual baggy pants that were longer and thicker now. She had on gold boots, and a gold bandana-cap, that she didn't wear.

They finally reached their apartment as they rushed to the inside and almost immediately Lee sprinted to turn on the heater as they striped down out of their winter outfits to let them wash and got into other leisure outfits that they wore. They liked the apartment they were staying in, which contained four rooms.

There were two bedrooms, one which had a bunk bed, table, nook with some books and scrolls, a window, a carpet and a recliner chair. Another had two single beds, a desk, a nook with pure jutsu scrolls, a window, a carpet and recliner chair. Lee and Gai had the first room, while Neji and TenTen had the other.

They were gathered around the campfire, which was right below the television. They were watching the Shinobi News, then suddenly a report on the Chuunin Exams came up and a lady wearing a thick button up coat came on the screen holding the microphone.

"Well tomorrow starts the first ever chuunin exams to be held in the Land of Snow. Like most exams, it will start with a test then followed up by a survival challenge and finally, the all important battle rounds to be held on the outlying Shinsei Island."

They shut off the television after a while and suddenly the door was being pounded on. Neji got up and quickly opened the door to a delivery man. "Hyuuga, Neji?" he asked as Neji handed him a bag of ryo in exchanged for a giant tray of ramen. He laid it on the table and smirked. "Dinner." He sneered as he picked up a bowl.

TenTen wasn't late to grab a bowl and take a seat next to Neji as Gai and Lee already occupied one side, taking their respective bowls. Lee pointed to Neji. "MY YOUTHFUL TEAMMATE!! I CHALLENGE YOU TO A RAMEN EATING CONTEST. GO!" Lee screamed as he scooped up some ramen rapidly and Neji looked along and put his bowl under the table.

Lee finished and looked at Neji astonished. "WHAT! YOU FINISHED THE BOWL CLEAN MY RIVAL!" Neji chuckled low and emotionless as TenTen smiled and chuckled with passion, stealing a glance at Neji who turned the other way while putting on his goggles to see TenTen.

After a while, they all finished their dinners and they were just lounging around, relaxing. They were all somehow preparing for the exams tomorrow, and Lee and Gai were reading up books for the test portion. Neji was shining his goggles to make them clear. TenTen was shining her blade, sharpening her kunai and shuriken and reading up her giant scroll.

Eventually, she got to her last kunai and looked at the dart board that she set up, closed her eyes and threw it, the kunai hitting dead center. "I always hit my target!" she said with a smirk. "Hn." released from Neji's lips, as he seemed to keep them closed. Lee and Gai were writing like crazy as TenTen stood up and pulled out her winter clothes. "I'm going for a walk."

XXX

TenTen was currently walking through the snowy fields that were near their apartment and she wanted to go somewhere, anywhere she just needed some away time from Neji Hyuuga and the hyperactive Gai and Lee. She quickly stood and looked around before sighing.

She turned the corner, to go left as she headed down alongside the buildings until she heard voices, one a familiar voice. She crept to the end of the building and pepped around to see three ninja and one being Hong Mei Ling who she saw on the boat.

There was a boy with orange long hair that went down to his shoulders. You could tell he was a boy from his facial features and he was on one knee. He had on a long black cloak that wrapped around him, but he seemed to had it button downed.

There was another boy with snow white hair that he had cut low. He wore a black and white spotted leopard jacket, long black pants and black boots. He wore a smirk on his face as he looked down at what the orange haired boy had in his hand, a deck of cards.

TenTen fiddled with her cape and focused chakra to her feet as she climbed up the side of the building. She quickly took out a piece of ninja wire and placed it right near them as she focused a bit of an electrical lightning current and as she attached it to a kunai and held it to her ear.

She did this little trick which made this like a radio as she could pick up the sound waves and maybe make out what they were saying. It seemed to work because she got a clear clue of what they were talking about. "Okay…so these teams are our biggest enemies, all from Konaha."

The guy with the orange hair nodded as she spoke silently, his voice barely was audible. "Yep." Then the snow white kid leaned back against the wall in arrogance. "Wow, team captain, Inuzuka Kiba. He's a dog boy, and he has a bug guy and wow…a Hyuuga. We need to watch out for this Hinata girl. Also, this Shino got to the final rounds before."

The white haired guy continued on. "Then we have Akimichi, Chouji. They replaced a teammate who got chuunin last time, Nara, Shikamaru, and he got replaced with Haruno, Sakura, who was trained by this Tsunade. Then Yamanaka, Ino can manipulate her mind and this Choji can manipulate his body and calories.

"Last but not least," continued on the white haired guy. "Is this Team Gai. Led by Hyuuga, Neji. He has the Byukugan and is said to be a prodigy. We have to watch out for him and Rock Lee, who can do the Lotus and open the inner gates. As for TenTen, there is nothing but weapon master on her card. But her DNA says that she belonged to a family of Lightning elementals."

TenTen gulped as she heard Hong Mei Ling chuckle. "It's a pity that she won't be able to make it here because nobody eavesdrops on us without a problem." She looked directly at TenTen, who gulped and drew a windmill shurikens as Hong Mei Ling put a hand to her temple and smirked.

The other guy took off his cloak and threw it which turned into an immediate leopard which TenTen gave a quick punch and a kick to fend it off. The other guy took his cards back as TenTen immediately escaped and ran off after a lunge from the leopard and she replaced.

She ran off to the lake, which was frozen. There were several symbols in the frozen waters that people probably drew and TenTen sighed as she heard a faint crunching of a branch. A branch in the snow? She turned around to see the infamous Neji Hyuuga sitting on a tree that he got rid of the snow on.

She turned around to pretend she hadn't seen him but as she turned to watch the frozen lake, Neji appeared next to her and gently ran a hand down her shoulder as she quickly shivered as he continued to do this. He was warming her arm and she quickly giggled focusing on the ice.

He got close to her and bent down over her ear and quickly chuckled lightly into her ear and ran a finger through her buns, pulling one bun out. He moved his hands to her other bun and pulled it out again, letting her hair fall out as she continued to watch him do so.

"I followed you because I knew you would get into some type of trouble. That guy has Kabuto's old ninja info cards, remember when came upon their team in the first Forest of Death and they took our scroll. Took us ages to get another one. Then that guy can summon things from his jacket." TenTen solemnly nodded and blushed faintly, but Neji didn't notice, or he didn't want to notice.

"What about the girl?" she asked, putting her nose high in the air from the mention of Hong Mei Ling.

"Well, she has a doujutsu and upon sight she can manipulate metal to turn it to iron sand. She was going to do it with her ninja wire, but she needs direct eye contact. And it takes a while. She can control it as well, but she can't move while manipulating it, her fatal flaw."

TenTen nodded then looked towards Neji. "Why are you telling me all this?" She asked. He took out a small heart shaped metal piece from her hair. "She was bugging all of us with this. That is how that guy gather's information. I sensed the chakra flow within you. She could turn this to iron sand and choke you…"

Neji looked at TenTen who smiled and as she was about to say thanks, he moved in and softly pressed his lips against hers. She stood dazed and week on her face, opening her eyes to see that it was real. He kept doing so and she closed her eyes and decided to play along. He released the kiss and quickly hit her with a Gentle Fist strike.

"Need to erase her memory." He said while putting together some handseals and having a red chakra glow to his hand as he got down to his knees and pressed it against her forehead, carefully sucking her memory from the last five minutes.

He sighed as he had to do that, but he couldn't get distracted from it, and he knew that he drained her memory for only recently as he picked up her unconscious body and held it in her arms. He watched her and pick her up as she quickly ran away and went towards the left.

Nearby Hong Mei Ling was watching. "Smart boy…but we'll see about that. Hopefully this idiot gets to the next round, because I got a bone to pick with him." She says with a chuckle as Neji disappears from her view.


	4. Cheat Your Way To the Top

They stood in the large Cathedral were several bunches of genin were already there ready for the first examinations. There were people from all ages, and forgetting last them, they weren't the youngest. Since they were now two years from their rookie year, and the rest of the noted Konaha teams one year.

Although there were no rookies this year, even after a rookie became Chuunin last time, people didn't like the chances that they got. It was just a large group of people in this large Cathedral set up with rows of wooden benches, a small table and it was only light by candles at the edges and a single light in the center.

They were all wearing new winter outfits that were designated for battle today. Everybody seemed to have outfits like this and TenTen even spotted Hong Mei Ling with a winter outfit. TenTen, Neji, Lee, Sakura, Ino, Chouji, Hinata, Kiba and Shino where huddled together in a small corner as they sat and stood near tables.

TenTen wore a lavender poncho without sleeves and a hood that was on. She had on a long white sleeved undershirt with a thick material made out of it. She then had on her black baggy pants with lavender wedge boots. She had on lavender gloves as well and was kept warm.

Neji was wearing the same thing as yesterday, as was Rock Lee. Sakura had on a pink thick shirt without sleeves and a rainbow colored arm-warmer that fit her entire arm-length and were also fingerless gloves. She had on the rainbow leggings that matched and had on a pink skirt over it. She then had regular ninja sandals.

Ino had on her regular purple shirt, but it was made into a sweatshirt that was tight and fitted around her curves perfectly. She had on a skirt with white stockings and black boots, the stockings being the same material as Lee's shirt making it unable to be seen through.

Chouji wore a red long-sleeved shirt and a gray over-coat that resembled an armor. He had on long red pants and gray boots. It seemed to be warm enough for him, but he also had a gray cape that went down to his ankles where he was hiding kunai on the pockets on the inside.

Hinata had on her usual crème sweatshirt with the Hyuuga crest on it and navy blue pants. She had on navy high heeled ninja boots that made her about an inch taller. She had on a navy blue cape that doubled over as a hood. She had the hood off at the moment.

Kiba was wearing his usual gray hooded sweatshirt, with Akamaru occupying that space and the dog wearing a blue sweater. Kiba had on thick black pants and black ninja sandals as well. He was wearing this special type of sock, made from fur or something.

Shino wore a new gray overcoat with a hood that he kept over his head. He wore a black shirt that went up and passed his mouth, although it was slightly opened so he can breathe. He also had on black glasses and a black colored pair of pants and shoes.

They were all pretty anxious for the examinations as they all wanted to pass as well. The most nervous was Hinata, who was fidgeting wildly. Neji went towards her and patted her on the back and he whispered something in her ear. She got up on the table and sat there as she nodded.

They continued to chat about regular things about the Country of Snow and Sakura told them about their last expedition here and how she got used to the conditions. She also created a technique here. After a while, the giant bell above the Cathedral rang and everybody stood with their teams.

There were a group of special jounin wearing white cloaks and Snow Village headbands. They had cards in there hands and they were going from team to team handing out random cards to the team member and pointing to small placards with that number, their seating plan.

Everybody got a random number as the deck was shuffled before they were distributed to the team members and they had to go to that seat. After a few minutes of that, everybody was seated where they were supposed to be. There were a total of 198 genin, meaning a total of 66 teams.

Lee was number 7, TenTen was number 55, Neji was 62, Hinata was 42, Kiba was 91, Shino was 22, Ino was 1, Chouji was 190 and Sakura was 152. Temari was in 56, right across the aisle from TenTen. Gaara was in 198 and Kankuro was in 155. They were all set up perfectly for the written test.

XXX

Suddenly, somebody clapped his hands, bringing almost instant silence. Walking onto a podium, a blue-robed man with a white cross on the breast of his uniform strode forwards, followed by a Frost shinobi with a white hooded cloak and a woman in the white and red of a priestess. The man began speaking. "Good morning, I am Xu Ling, Pontifex of the Holy Church. Behind me is Kidaru Higure, head of the Snow Military, and Ayame Takane."

"We will be your proctors for this portion of this exam. This portion will consist of a short quiz. They are being handed out right now. Please do not flip the sheet face up until you are told to do so. Raising your hand implies a forfeit…everything here is rooted off of things taught in the academy. We aren't the only proctors, because 33 of you 198 genin are secret proctors disguised to catch cheaters. Any assumption that this sheets hold all the questions may be incorrect. You have 45 minutes…good luck."

"1. Describe the advantages of a short Ninjato over a Nodachi and its disadvantages.

2. What events led to Third Great Shinobi War and the root idea of it's beginning?

3. Describe the difference between Shadow Replications, water replications and wood replications.

4. Describe how the Bijuu were worked into the villages and their basic history.

5. Explain how Genjutsu works.

6. Name eight Hidden Villages excluding Yukigakure no Sato (Village Hidden in the Snow)

7. What led to the death of Hanzo and the future placement of Amegakure being held without a kage.

8. What led to the formation of the Village Hidden in the Sound.

9. You come across a road. The left side leads to a bunch of traps and pitfalls, the right side leads to a sunny field with vendors handing out cookies. Explain which way you go and why.

10. This question will be distrusted later."

The first person to begin writing was Sakura who went like rapid fire. Ino, who was directly behind her smiled as she knew that Sakura wouldn't be able to dodge her jutsu from an unknown angle and from behind. Sakura quickly got down five answers.

1. Describe the advantages of a short Ninjato over a Nodachi and its disadvantages.

At close range, a Ninjato is powerful in that it can be drawn in an instant and well-concealed, while a Nodachi is difficult to draw in its sheath. However, once a Nodachi has cleared its sheath, a ninja is at a severe disadvantage.__

2. What events led to Third Great Shinobi War and the root idea of it's beginning?

o have begun with the disappearance of the Third Kazekage. Sunagakure went to such lengths to find its Kazekage that it provoked intervention from neighboring countries. Konohagakure and Iwagakure eventually began fighting across Kusagakure. It was not until the destruction of the Kannabi Bridge that the war began turning in Konoha's favor.

3. Describe the difference between Shadow Replications, water replications and wood replications.

Shadow Replications use chakra to create temporary bodies that are consisted of chakra. However, these clones have nobodies, and using jutsu would leech the chakra-synthesized body. The chakra will also eventually run out, dissipating the clone. Water replications are merely illusions and cannot attack at all, while wood replications are made of wood. Having a solid body means that there is no chakra drain for the clone, allowing it to use Jutsu.

4. Describe how the Bijuu were worked into the villages and their basic history.

The tailed beasts have been around since long before the founding of the ninja villages. At some point, Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, managed to capture and control some of them with his Wood Release techniques, and used them as peace treaties to the other great shinobi nations in order to stabilize the balance of power between them

5. Explain how Genjutsu works

However, the primary difference between the two is that the effect of genjutsu is illusory, creating chakra imbalances in the victim's brain, and thus causing a disruption in their senses. This is often used to create false images or to cause pain from trauma however, there are plenty of other uses depending on the situation. They are not used as often as ninjutsu because they don't physically harm the opponent.

Sakura continued on with the test as she smirked and answered all the nine questions vividly. She now had to just wait for the new tenth question and hopefully pass this test. She heard that it was different from the last tenth question, making her even more anxious for now.

What she didn't know that Ino was behind her and she held up the handseal for Mind Body Switch Technique. She shot out her mind for the back of Sakura's skull and quickly took place of Sakura's paper. Folding it up she had to make it end up on her own paper. She quickly yawned and chucked it, making it land on her paper as she returned to her seat and copied Sakura's answers.

Meanwhile, Shino had a bug on every single paper towards the left quadrant and was trying to gain all of the information that it can for Shino to copy. Nobody seemed to see him as he copied down the paper of Ino Yamanaka as he got the answers that she got from Sakura Haruno.

Kiba was sniffing down the fresh markings of the ink quills hitting down the paper and they ways they marked to get some answers. He then used Akamaru's advanced smell to get some answers and eventually made out most words to successfully copy the test words.

Neji was right in front of number 52, who was Hong Mei Ling. She was using her doujutsu to turn her teammates kunai into metal sand and use the metal sand to form into shapes and letters to help her write out questions. Slowly but surely, Neji copied all of her answers as if it were nothing.

Lee was using a new technique that Gai sensei showed him. It was allowing him to just fidget his body, and so fast he could move across the room in basically no time. It was an altered version of Body Flicker that didn't require handseals or moving at all.

After a while, Lee did so and took the paper of somebody in front of him, stealing it and replacing it with his own. The guy freaked out as he thought he did all of these questions and quickly filled out the correct answers for Lee. After a while, Lee and him exchanged papers back.

TenTen looked at the light in the air and smirked as she looked around. Temari was directly next to her and she was pretty near to Neji who was writing down things rapidly. She looked at the light and drew her kantana as she set it down in front of her.

Her plan was working because it's reflections were now like a mirror. She moved it so that it will go to the light and circular metal parts around it that were shiny. She had the blade bounced to the light and reflected easily to show her a paper of Neji's.

She used this at the right ankle and quickly copied his paper. She continued to write and write as she got down to all his answers and that she couldn't see his paper. Eventually, the test was 45 minutes in when the proctor spoke up. "The tenth question is simple. You must write down the name of one of your teammates. Only two of you can go on. If everybody puts somebody different, your entire team fails."


	5. Pass or Fail!

**I just remembered that I never put these xO I don't own Naruto, so don't sue me or mail letters to my house, k Fanfiction!!**

**ANYWHO..uhh, I forgot. wait xO thanks for the review. That idea came into my head and I should get the next chapter up by tonight. i'm determined to do so!!**

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Everybody looked around nervously at this statement, trying to take it all in by themselves. So, the point was that they had to trade their partners for success? One will always be left behind…was this new? The point of the test was probably find the way to be a better ninja. You had to find the best way, was it better to quit and wait next year, or was it easier to just stay and pass on with only two people in your squad together? There was no logical explanation in TenTen's opinion, but there had to be something there was missing. Last time it wasn't even something, it was just exerting the pressure. Or was this the same? Did she just have to write the name down and nobody failed at all?

Xu Ling quickly put together a string of handseals that most people recognized, in which he did slowly but carefully as there were nearly fifteen handseals in the line. After he finished a stack of index cards rose up and immediately in a flutter of wind, one ended up right next to everybody's number placard on their long tables. Everybody gulped and their quills lay there. The white feathers glistened in the light and torchlight

TenTen immediately turned towards Neji as her fingers seemed to crawl towards her quill, but she immediately banged her fist against the table which drew the attention of much. She could practically feel the stares that she got as she looked down, the only visible thing being her hitai-ate and her buns. When she felt that everybody went back to their papers, she glanced at Neji who reclined comfortably in his chair. She took her blade and moved it around to find Neji's handwriting. "Lee.." TenTen inaudibly muttered so that only she can understand.

She only had to write three letters and she was safe…she knew that she was safe. Unless there was some genjutsu under her. She doubt that Neji had a slight understanding of genjutsu, and Lee couldn't even use it at all. There team mastered in taijutsu mostly. TenTen did have a basic understand and she could use Genjutsu Release at the cost of more chakra then Genjutsu masters, like Sakura was.

She gulped and grabbed her quill as she looked around and saw more people nervous before she noticed Lee struggling to even hold his quill. She knew that Lee was like this, he wasn't the one to trade and think that he wouldn't get the chance to become chuunin. Neji wasn't the nicest of people, always ranting about destiny now and then, he was just so full of crap sometimes. TenTen was noted of his ability, but she did give respect to everybody.

Meanwhile Hinata played nervously with her forehead protector which was slung around her neck comfortably. Her violet locks, which were getting longer now reached the top of her shoulder as she brushed it that way. Her new winter outfit was sort of hot in here so she played with the zipper, trying to find an excuse as she felt a breeze. 'Even it was sort of cold inside…'she thought.

How she wished Naruto was here, she would give her some encouragement at the least, but sadly he wasn't here nor sitting right next to her like her last chuunin exams. She knew that Kiba and Shino probably put her as the guys of the group and they knew that her shyness extorted their team and held them back pretty much. She knew that she was toast either way and she didn't notice the growing Akamaru nuzzling her feet now. She smiled at him with a confident look, but she gave it up towards the end.

"I can't do this…" She struggled with this but eventually she released a deep breath and saw something in Akamaru's fur. It was a tint of white, that stood out from his slightly dirty fur. Pretending to pet him, she stroked his back and felt the fur as she picked up the paper in the gap between her fingers and brought it up to her desk. 'It's okay to quit, Hina.' that what the note said.

Hinata eventually did it and raised her hand in the air, she was the first one but she couldn't take it and she just plummeted her team to basic failure. It was over for them, wasn't it? Xu Ling watched from the front and nodded solemnly. "Konaha Team consisting of Hyuuga, Hinata, Inuzuka, Kiba and Aburame, Shino…please go outside, but don't leave the building."

They were somehow surprised that she didn't say something like FAIL or GET OUT, but they solemnly went out. Maybe they were supposed to wait for the rest of the failures and get a lecture. Hinata was already standing so she was first out, followed by Kiba who patted her on the shoulder and Shino who looked emotionless, as usual.

Chouji looked around and saw that Ino and Sakura were done. There was no doubt that they put down each other with their rivalry so it was down to him. If he put down his name, they would fail ultimately. But something in his mind said that he had to put down Sakura. His longtime crush on Ino might be a factor of this but he needed to think. Chouji pulled out a bag of chips and began to munch.

Somebody from in front of him grabbed their temples from the crunching and threw a kunai, which he dodged. As he crunched on the potato chips he was looking around and saw that the food gave him his better thoughts and he solemnly nodded before smirking, he had an idea now. If he put down his name, all of them would fail. If he gave up, all of them would fail. But letting your team fail with a grasp of even having a chance of passing while you knew they'll fail was bad. With the guilt that held, Chouji raised his hand in defeat.

Xu Ling chuckled and snapped as their papers appeared in front of him. "Konaha Team, again, Akimichi, Chouji, Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura…you know the deal. Match up with your Konaha comrades outside and just wait for the verdict. Also, if you're done with your answers you can leave it on the side of your desks. We're waiting, surprised to see so many of you not cracking…there is always next year."

With that, many teams threw in the towel and went towards the door. Neji was counting in his mind, with the 66 teams in total here. So far 15 have failed. They were the only Konaha team left, and so were the Sand Siblings and that girl who was stalking TenTen, she looked mysterious as well but he had to do so.

Temari raised her fan. "I'm out. Let's roll Kankuro and Gaara." Gaara stared at her and she rolled her eyes to get it off as she got up and strutted out, putting her fingers to Xu Ling's face to shut him up as Gaara used his sand to open the door and they all strutted out to wait with the other guys. TenTen grew anxious…Temari wouldn't quit like that, something was up.

TenTen raised her hand solemnly. "I'm out. Let's roll Neji and Lee." She looked to see Rock Lee who was raising his hand at the same time and she got up and hugged him as Neji rolled his eyes and smirked from behind them. "You couldn't take the heat huh Lee?" Neji asked. TenTen snapped at him. "SHUT UP NEJI!" She said while slapping him square across the face and they exited.

Eventually, it was 5 more teams that came in, including Hong Mei Ling's team, which surprised TenTen as she thought Hong Mei will get chuunin. That meant 17 teams in total had failed, meaning that 49 teams were still in there, ready to pass on to the next round. Neji gulped as Xu Ling came in with a pile of ash in her hand.

"YOU PASS!" Everybody looked surprised as they all looked around and heard a thump. Hinata passed out and now Kiba was holding her trying to zone her back into the world as everybody's eyes darted to Xu Ling, who disappeared in a pile of snow. Everybody looked around and Temari chuckled and everybody looked towards her.

"Isn't it obvious? The test was simple, you had to cheat your way to find out. Gaara wrote down me, as did Kankuro. How did I know? That's a secret but this was very cliché. Why would they want you to betray a comrade? They wanted you to figure out that it was a test. Of course, the only people I think that did it for the test were us, and that Kiri team. The rest of you were probably luck."

Temari smirked as they went to follow Xu Ling. "Well…lets get ready for the second test, right?" All the other teams relentlessly followed as TenTen and Lee stood and stared at Neji. "Don't say a word…" he muttered but TenTen jumped on him yelling. "I TOLD YOU SO!!" He growled and she made him piggyback ride her all the way to where Xu Ling was. They were gathered at a large cottage outside the Snow Forest that was gated by large bricks and 25 large archways. It was newly built for the exams.

XXX

They were gathered into a large sitting room. They were grouped together in their teams with their sensei's. Gai sensei gave Lee a small pack to wear, gave TenTen her large scroll and gave Neji a smaller scroll that had medical stuff in case any of them got injured. Since Neji could seal and unseal stuff with a small knowledge of Fuinjutsu.

Xu Ling was explaining the basics for them, but they basically knew everything. "You will each start at a gate and make your way to the Snow Forest of Traps. You will start with no scrolls and there are 17 teams, meaning that I split 17 Love scrolls and 8 Hate scrolls around the forest. That means only about half of you could pass."

The news was weird, the scrolls were hidden. And at least all the teams COULD get a love scroll, but only 8 would get the Hate scroll. It was smart to follow a team to the Hate scrolls and steal it from them accordingly. That was what TenTen thought but she looked at Lee who crouched on the ground and Neji who was picking at his nail on his chair.

Gai gave them the liability weavers that they had to sign and they all took the quill and signed it before going into an enclosed room as they were given an information scroll and another room to discuss things in. They went into a closet that they all fit comfortably in before Neji activated Byukugan to get rid of every trap. He wanted to make sure that they weren't being bugged by somebody, they didn't want to give away valuable info.

They were discussing things for about twenty-five minutes before they were let out of the closet and then they had to go over and get their gates. They were assigned the last gate, 25, right next to 1. The closet team was at 24, some team that didn't know. And at gate number 4, was the Sand Siblings who they were going to try to avoid.

The next proctor of this round was named Matoru and she was a slender women who looked gracefully nice. She had slicked back hair that she held into a high ponytail and a white and purple silk kimono around her as she took out a small fan with a long silver dragon running through it and she waved it and out game a long dragon of wind that went around the entire brick wall and opened all of the gates. After a hesitant two seconds, Neji ran in followed by his teammates.


	6. Two Worlds Collide

Neji, Rock Lee and TenTen quickly darted through the forest as immediately TenTen stopped as she jumped onto the tree and stopped the group. She stuck a kunai in the ground and pointed at the snow. That was the point, they were going to leave footprints wherever they went, so they needed plans, to either travel by tree or to hide their footprints. That was all that was needed for Neji and Lee to come up to the tree with her to think.

Neji was the first to speak up. "We should stop walking here and just travel by tree. But I doubt that people will be following us already. My guess is that they are using the first two or three days to search, and the last few days to find or steal the other scroll. It's quite simple. But there are some teams who are going straight towards the cathedral in the middle, setting up traps in the snow."

Next was Rock Lee who was speaking, as he had a general idea of what was going on. "Remember when we split up last time? Let's not do that this time. We should search close enough as a team and try to find that first scroll. They gave us one paper with a hint, right?" TenTen nodded and slipped it out from her pocket as she held out the piece of paper with a slight chuckle. She left it out for Neji to raise an eyebrow and make a small, "Hn."

"Well…it says that 'Wherever the scroll may be, a blanket in which you can find me'. That's probably the hint to our scroll. I was thinking below the snow, but that's probably where most people are looking as we speak. I say we look on tree tops." She said this while pointing up at the leaves and using focused chakra to climb up the trees.

Lee and Neji jumped up after her and they began to jump from tree to tree. Every tree they began to give it a thorough search until TenTen shuffled and out came a scroll. TenTen smirked and opened it to review the official markings but instead she found something, it was an exploding tag! She threw it just in time as it exploded and she leaped backwards with Neji.

Neji already had his Byukugan activated and he began looking around before he pointed to a direction. In which everybody began charging towards that direction and TenTen took out 6 shuriken and threw them in a shifting manner. One guy jumped out and deflected them with three kunai which TenTen jumped and deflected with her kantana. All the weapons stood on the ground, discarded.

From behind him, a girl with blood red hair that was pulled up into a single bun in the middle of her head with bangs draped over her eyes. Her hitai-ate was on her neck and you could see that they were from the Grass Village. TenTen remembered that some Kusagakure people traveled to Konaha to dock onto their boat. She gulped and looked as another guy popped out.

He was tall and slim and had jet black hair and emerald green eyes, along with glasses and two sticks in his hand. They looked liked senbon, but TenTen knew they were like baton's and together they formed some kind of jutsu. TenTen then saw it, he was forming red kinetic energy by moving the two 'wands' together and formed a ball which he launched at Neji.

Neji went right in and put a gentle fist into it's main chakra flow, as it evaporated into miniature lightning bolts that shot towards them again. They dodged and rolled out of the way as they saw Neji and the guy who was already there. He had shaggy green hair and an ill but mean look on his eye. He seemed to have a slouch as well as he fiddled with his hat.

"I set that trap, seeing that you guys were looking around for a scroll. Which we found." He said while holding up a scroll and the girl with blood red hair held up one as well. "Give us one of your comrades and we'll give you the scroll. You don't need your entire team to pass." TenTen nodded and went over, but it was a trick because as she neared them, they let their guard down.

Swiftly TenTen spun around and had a spinning heel kick that went into the stomach of the redhead. She growled as she hit the tree and everybody else got into a battle position. The girl and TenTen faced off with icy cold glares. The leader of their group with the slouch stood at Neji who got in his Byukugan stance. Then Rock Lee and the guy with the needles, who was forming a small lightning tornado, were ready to battle.

(A/N: ALL THESE BATTLES ARE HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME.)

XXX

TenTen stood light on her feet as she jumped backwards and began to run into a clearing. She didn't want to go to far and she looked back to see the girl following her. That was her plan and she jumped onto the branch before leaving two exploding tags attached to a thread of ninja wire as she jumped back onto one tree.

As planned, her rival jumped onto the tree branch with the exploding tags and almost immediately TenTen pulled the ninja wire and disposed of it. The large explosion seemed to blow up the tree, and the smoke went off into the air. That seemed to catch the attention of others, but some thought that it may be a trap itself. TenTen looked along and saw the girl coming at her with blood trickling from the left side of her mouth.

TenTen gasped and saw that she was quick as she hit TenTen in the stomach, and she flipped over and landed on another branch and held her stomach. Although it look as if she set up TenTen, the hit was very lethal. She knew her vital points because she was hit right in her spleen or whatever organ was there. TenTen had no time to think as she was coming with two fingers towards her shoulder.

"Vital organs and pressure points, huh!?" TenTen screamed and ducked down and swung her leg as the girl grabbed TenTen's leg. TenTen struggled and spun around as her other leg immediately met the girls forehead and she went flipping down to the ground and landed on one knee. TenTen panted on and leaned against the tree and the girl looked up. "I am Amaya, your killer!"

She drew a purple ribbon and she spun around and she ripped it, but it immediately formed back with the threads and TenTen looked surprised. She smirked as she spread it out and put together a string of handseals. The ribbon began to harden and form out, there it was, a chain, freshly made from the ribbon in her hair.

TenTen nodded at her weapon and saw that she was weapons master as well and she took out her kantana and charged forward and towards the chain. She knew that it could break and reform instantly, but if she hit it in the same place maybe it wouldn't form anymore and she did and tried to slice the chain, but it didn't work.

Her blade rebounded and the girl ran around her and flung her chain as it wrapped around TenTen's blade and she leaped above TenTen who gulped as the girl held her and immediately pulled up and yanked TenTen up. TenTen was launched into the air, but she released her blade to be met by a punch.

TenTen went flying across two branches and landed into the bark as she coughed up some more. That girl knew exactly where to hit her, she just hit a nice place in her jaw that made her go flying. She had to watch herself, this girl was a threat and she fingered at her giant scroll. "Not yet…let's try for an original." she breathed and took out two familiar pink scrolls.

She placed them facing up next to her and put together her handseals as the scrolls rose up in smoked dragons. The girl held up her chain and spun it around perfectly as it seemed to make a cyclone as it went rapidly side by side and TenTen rose up as she screamed. "TWIN DRAGONS CONTROL!"

She didn't even need to touch the markings, she just flicked her hands and the weapons traveled instantly as all types of sharp and pointy objects traveled towards her. And every other weapon had an exploding tag attached to it but Amaya smirked and began to fling off some weapons to nearby trees and as the jutsu ended, she got hit by some but not majorly.

She had a boomerang in her arm and a bunch of kunai trailed down her left leg. She had a giant shuriken that grazed her back and was behind her covered in blood. Along with a flurry senbon that seemed to cover her arms that she tried to block but missed with her chain. She panted and looks towards a tired TenTen.

"YOU SEE!" screamed Amaya as she got closer to TenTen by a branch. "You're no match for me." But that's when the exploding tags went off and Amaya fly into the air and land in the ground with a thump. TenTen panted but eventually, she knew that she had won this battle. She wiped sweat from her eyebrow and discarded Amaya of her scroll.

XXX

Rock Lee sprinted towards the guy who threw the lightning tornado towards Rock Lee who quickly moved rapidly out of the way, like he was in a blur. He spun around and hit the guy with a kick as he went flying into the tree and immediately bounced back and formed up some more kinetic energy and shot a dragon like form towards Lee.

Rock Lee bent down into a bridge as a dragon went passed him and he flipped up to be hit directly by a star of kinetic energy and he fell to his knees after being hit and shuddered from the electricity that was hit and it seemed to wear off after a while and the guy stood near him.

"I don't play games. I use real kinetic energy at virtually no chakra. Although they wear off after a while, my stronger abilities could stun you. Since you have a large speed, you can dodge easily. But somehow your so active blood flow can't be stunned easily. You can only be slowed down, which I must do with every single hit."

He focused up a dragon and threw it towards Lee who dodged to the left and swiftly swung his body to avoid a ball of kinetic energy coming towards him. Three balls went straight towards him, but they were low and he hurdled over one and tried to get close to the guy who released another ball that hit Lee straight in the chest. "BINGO! Heh, Lee Rock? I'm Seraph."

The guy focused more energy but Lee kicked the two sticks out of his hands and he gasped and tried to dive for them. Lee grabbed his wrists and pulled him towards Lee as he whimpered in fear and he punched him in the air and he went flying. Rock Lee knew that he was nothing without the sticks. As he was flying, Rock Lee hid them beneath the snow.

He came back and Lee was already in the air. He looked around and saw a kunai. This distracted him as it hit a tree and Lee screamed. "DYNAMIC ENTRY!" And hit a flying kick right at his temple and the guy wildly fell down to the floor. He got on his knees and got up weakly. "Where are my…needles."

Lee kicked him again and he coughed up some blood. He was no match for Lee without his sticks and Lee held them up and the guy tried to charge for them and Lee threw them in the air. Seraph dived for them which set Lee right up as he leaped and released the tape on his arms and wrapped it around a screaming Seraph, who dropped his needles.

Lee rapidly spun around as they were heading towards the ground and Seraph screamed and already passed out from the dizziness and as he slammed him into the snow. His eyes rolled above his head and he lay in the snow, right next to his needles. Lee panted and held his hands on his knees. The Lotus made him tired, but it did get the job done. He searched Seraph and took their clue along with a bag of bread.

XXX

Neji looked at the guy with a serious look on his face as he activated his Byukugan and the guy continued to slouch over but he got into a regular stance. Eventually he tried to punch and his arm went out of his socket and followed Neji like a rocket and punched him before it returned to his hands.

He took off his head and used ninja wire to control it and he used it like a club. Neji wondered how he could see like that, but he could de-limb himself and use them at weapons, and they didn't seem to have chakra traces as he did that.

Neji jumped backwards as he missed the head and he grabbed it, trying to yank him forward but the tongue of the head moved out. It grabbed Neji and went around his arm and he fell to his knees. The tongue had…needles on it! The tongue pierced into Neji's arm as he used his best Gentle fist to get the head off as his arm felt numb.

Neji tried to fend him off with his other arm but he was too weak and the guy curved both of his arms and with his teeth he used chakra strings like that to control them like boomerangs. Neji found the chakra strings that he was using and he used a one handed gentle fist to stop the chakra flow and stop it down.

Neji got ready once again and felt that his arm was coming back into play as he felt all of the nails. He needed a new technique to use and he gulped once again, was he going to use the new technique that he mastered? There was no way that he was going to reveal it just for now so he got it up and looked at his arm and gulped as he watched more body parts.

His main body had to be defeated to stop this so Neji quickly traveled in and around his weapons and got to his main body and quickly used gentle fist and turned around and caught him. "You're in range!" He began screaming as he hit the chakra points that were available and hit him into the gut and he went flying. All of his limbs came back and he couldn't use the technique.

"I see…you need chakra to shape out your body and hold off your blood flow to prevent death. Then you can shape it out to threads and successfully control your limbs as weapons. It's a nice mutation but without chakra it's nothing. And like the rest of your team, without your weapon your nothing right?"

The guy gulped but he came at Neji anyway and focused chakra to his hands as he was going for chakra punches. Neji used his best abilities and used Rotation as the power went against his opponent who went flying into the air and Neji preformed a handseal and took out two kunai as he pelted them onto his oncoming gut.

He fell onto the ground in a puddle of blood that stained the snow and he was approached by his team who held up the two scrolls. They smirked and looked up to see the sun setting. The first day might be over, but their adventures weren't.


	7. Adventures of Other Squads

Ino fell to her knees, panting loudly...crossing her hands into a butterfly and holding her chest, which heaved out and in roughly.

SHE was tired...her blond blocks fell out of her high ponytail and she moved towards a tree, resting her head for a second.

"Guys..." she breathed out again, biting her lip.

"We traveled from sundown and now the sun is about to come up," she pressed her hands into the snow and she could see the cathedral.

Sakura glared at Ino. "OH COME ON! JUST SHUT UP YOU IDI--" she was stopped short by Chouji stuffing an apple into her mouth.

Right now, with Sakura and Ino's constant bickering, he had picked up a leadership role with this. Sakura's screaming was...loud, and it could give away their location.

They had already lost a scroll as is. His eyes darted towards Sakura.

"Okay, you can stop glaring at me. I didn't mean to throw the SCROLL at Ino and lose it in the snow," she said in a monotone hushed whisper, turning her head in a prude fashion and her longer pink hair waved in the air.

"I STILL THINK...that we should at least try something new," she waved her hands off at them and dug into her sack and took out one of those large edible twigs and took a bite, muttering.

Ino finally thought that they could take a break and she went behind the tree into a more shaded and secluded area and started brushing her hair.

While Chouji sat on a branch, kicking his legs, trying to keep his sanity together in order to succeed in the fucking exams.

He knew with Naruto long gone, and Sasuke away, Sakura was in a deep thing. So they gladly took her into a team, since Shikamaru was at an absence for already being a chuunin.

Chouji continued to think...this was the only team in the whole exams that had two girls and a single guy...so he took it upon himself to protect them...even if he did like Ino, though that wasn't the point of this was it ?

He heard steps churning in the icy-like snow and he immediately got into position and warned Sakura, who pulled on her gloves and got ready.

Ino, in a complete rush, threw her long blond hair up into a sloppy bun and accidentally missed some hair and a long bang framed down her left eye.

They saw three ninjas zooming through the air...well, they didn't see them they were more like blurs zooming through the air around them.

Before they knew it, they were trapped in a triangle like figure. How did they know?

The spiraling winds that you could obviously see stretched out into a triangle...it looked like they were in the midist of a tornado.

But then...there was singing. "YOUR DEATH..." was screeched out in a beautiful soft and high soprano tone,

"WILL BE GRACEFUL," followed by a nice alto voice. "SO SURRENDER YOUR SCROLLS...AND YOUR SOUL!"

and lastly, a deep and soothing baritone voice made out "OR DIIIIIIIIIIIIE!"

They all looked around and at each section of the triangle was a person. There was a girl, she was tall, skinny with long legs.

She had porcelain pale skin with a single scar across her left cheek...it was barely noticable unless you looked close.

She wore black tights that went past her knees, a red skirt and a tight black corset top with strings that made it's way down her arms. She had long black hair and a sound village headband across her neck.

The deep baritone guy made out his next voice.

"We're the singing vampire soul ninja...Here to feed on your blood!" He was stout..short and plump.

He had red hair curled on the top, some khaki pants that seemed very loose and a dark red upturned collar shirt.

The last guy just smirked...he had emerald green hair and pink eyes. Sakura screamed out at him.

"HEY BITCH! YOU JUST TOOK MY HAIR and EYES AND JUST REVERSED IT!" he yelled back the same thing and the two got into a glaring match.

Ino took this as a challenge and guess who she leaped for? The soprano girl who did a backflip and made Ino charged into the tree.

"So...blondie, you want to take on Makila of the Sound?" She almost completed her statement when Ino threw two twirling kunais which she easily caught. "

You're just jealous because you don't have abilities," she shrieked an earsplitting High C note.

Ino went to her knees and held her ears and she felt something warm on them. She pulled her hands away and looked at them....blood was there.

She checked her ears...and surely, blood was oozing out of it surely but slowly. The shrieking stopped and Ino was there, her ears bled and she couldn't dodge that kick that Makila took to her temple.

Ino fell backwards from the tree and flew through the air on her back, like she was freefalling.

She landed on the ground like that and Makila grinned and threw four kunai which Chouji jumped in, caught and threw back at her.

Chouji slid onto the ground, dust sliding upwards as he got into position. That barritone guy jumped at him with sharp claw-like weapons and he ducked.

Makila screeched as the claws touched at her chest and scarred her once perfect skin, she hit the High C against and even Sakura...who was busy biting the alto guy's arm, had to cover her ear.

It ripped through her shirt then past her skin, burning through her flesh as blood spewed out. He swept him in a large motion so that he couldn't even stop.

He pulled out his silver claws...but it was too slow and Makila fell to the ground, head limb and face pale.

That guy gasped from what happened and he just went blank...he had killed his own teammate!

Chouji smiled at him and he just blinked. As soon as his eyes opened up...he saw a fist coming towards him.

Within a split second, he felt his eyes go the back of his head and he probably felt like he was flying...because that he was.

BAM! He hit his head right into a tree and plopped down into a sitting position. Then Sakura rammed the other guy right into him.

They searched all of them and found out that they have a Love Scroll...typical. Everybody was looking for a hate scroll now, since there were 17 of these.

(A/n: UPDATE. Might seem confusing but Chouji and Sakura found a HATE scroll..but lost it again. So now they have a LOVE scroll and they need a Hate scroll.

Team Gai has two Love scrolls atm. ALSO O.o I want to show you guys what Hong Mei Ling has to offer.)

Hinata smacked her hands together and activated her Byukugan, scanning the area. "Shino-kun, Kiba-kun...The only teams I sense are together...and the chakra is moving all over the place.

They're battling...let's watch." They all leaped ahead and stopped in the snow covered leaves, all at different areas just watching what was going on.

Hong Mei Ling was in the dead center of her team, two steps ahead of them. Her black hair and fine leather gloves matching accordingly.

She placed a hand on her hip, as her other teammate, the one with the snow white hair an the leopard jacket took out his jacket and was waving it in the snow.

The other guy drew three cards. "Aah...Yuki Squad 001. A completely male squad...all of you just use snow techniques? Pity."

The guys did handseals and all formed multiple snowballs, which Hinata noted had chakra full of them, and launched them at the squad.

Kai, who had the snow white hair, summoned his leopard and had it leap and attack one guy wildly.

It charged at rapid speeds, all the Yuki ninja could do was back up until he could form a wall with his sand, which the leopard easily broke through without a trace, he cursed and dodged his way out.

The guy with the black jacket and the cards just nodded and threw a simple kunai. Nobody saw it as a threat until it vanished.

Everybody looked around and then it appeared...but only triple this time in a guy's arm!

He screamed and pulled the out and the guy simply took more kunai from his jacket and just launched as many as he could...just covering the guy as if he was a porcupine.

Now...Hong Mei Ling looked weak. The guy, who was about 19, brute and built up and pretty big, had his arms around her shoulders, leaning into her with his lips puckered.

She just grinned and tickled his chin lightly. He smirked, but then he backed off, obviously scared. "YOU...WITCH...THING!" he screamed at her, only causing her to grin.

She took a chain with a blade at the end, which extended about six feet and with a single snap, she had it wrapped around his neck.

"Mommy told you not to hit girls," she said in a sing-song sweet voice as she put a finger to her temple and with her free hand, she pulled the chain.

A satisfying crack noise was heard and simply, as if she did this a thousand times before, and his head slowly came from his body onto the floor...and his body to the ground in one motion.

Hong smiled as her teammates were fighting the other guys and she calmly walked over, set her chain back into a small chain bracelet.

"It transforms!" snapped Hinata, who had her mouth covered by Shino. She searched him and took out a hate scroll and she didn't look pleased and just held it with a stink face.

Just then the snow leopard guy, Kai, and apparently his twin brother with pitch black hair, Kyo had just defeated their opponents and Kyo found a love scroll.

"Meh, we already have a pair? You want to collect Mei Mei?" Kiba gagged at the name they called her...they treated her like a fucking princess?"

Mei grabbed both scrolls and threw them...right in the direction of Kiba, Hinata and Shino. Shino caught them just as Hong Mei Ling spoke.

"Let the Konaha team have it, I doubt they found any by now." Even Shino blinked under his glasses as Hong Mei Ling snapped and her team took off.

Kiba nad Hinata followed Shino onto the snow clearing, observing the scrolls.

"They're real," commented Shino who put them in his up-turned collar jacket, nodding. Kiba grinned...he was happy about this! But Hinata looked red..and scared.

"Guys...if they could just give up two scrolls like that...I think they are a threat," she breathed out lightly.

Kiba took Hinata's hand in his and she lighted up...she felt confident for a second and Shino stood up, looking at the foot prints.

"Well, it seems like we are near the center because I sense a lot of foot prints.

I also sent my bugs out to track and the nearest team to us is Chouji, Sakura and Ino...and they're just moving around like idiots, trying to find the Cathedral.

The Cathedral is thataway! He pointed to wear Hong Mei Ling and her team left.

Hinata used her Byukugan as Kiba and Shino took off. She spotted a large chakra amount and a building.

"I know where it is...but people are camping out there wanting for an ambush. There is a door by the back...if we move to the left and circle around, we can get in safely...

but that would take us by morning if we rest. If you want a shorter ride..we'll encounter two to three teams,"

They decided to follow the plan that Hinata gave them...it would make it WAYY easier for them to follow, right? It was just a matter of time.

(kk O.o Sand Siblings Now)

The Sand Siblings were sitting in a circle, with a camp fire in the middle, enjoying some fruit. Yeah...alot of teams were scared of them, except Hong Mei Ling and The Pussycats.

They hadn't encountered a team and the so far had found two Love scrolls.

One was hidden in that little circle on a tree ad one was attached to the back of a bird. Temari was shining her fan when she noticed something. "Guys..I think we should head to the cathedral, it's day four."

Gaara looked up and in his stoic, monotone voice he said. "We want to draw teams to us instead...I don't want too much attention from these losers," (A/N: Remember...this in the middle of the timeskip. So Gaara's not all to nice yet.)

He looked up at the sky and just folded his arms...it was starting to get to night and the next morning will be the day they would have to report.

"But Gaara...more teams will be there and we can just hijack some scrolls," he said while shaking off his brown hair. He had no hood on now...it was too hot for those kind of things.

They figured it was best to travel in the night..instand of letting Gaara stand watch 24/7 since he was insomniac.

They just walked right on through the paths, scouting for some camping teams when they came across...none other then another team from the Sand Village, they were rookies.

All of them twelve years old, just looked up at the sand siblings and gulped. They held out their hands which had a love scroll in it.

Gaara didn't want to hurt fellow villages, nor did Kankuro. Temari just walked up and grabbed the scroll and pocketed it. They just backed up and handed them a map.

"G-gaara, this is a m-map of the forest. W-we took it from a Yuki team," thats when Kankuro grabbed a kid and hauled him up, causing the kid to kick his legs.

"Then you must have another scroll don't ya?" He gulped, and nodded and let Kankuro searched him and he found...A HATE SCROLL?

Kankuro pushed him back and took the single hate scroll. BAD MOVE! The other two kids charged at Gaara and Temari.

Gaara, acting on impulse, just stood there as the sand whipped out and tripped the guy onto his face.

Temari used her fan and jumped backwards, and with a small flick of the wrist, some whirlwinds pushed the guy into the tree. The extra winds and impact cut the tree and it fell...forward?

Smack onto his back, basically just smashing him. Gaara already had the other kid tied up at both ankles and he was ready to hurl him across the forest.

He screamed for mercy but the sands threw him and he spun and spun until he was just a glitter in the air...like Team Rocket!

With their scrolls in place...Temari grabbed her brothers and grinned. "Are you guys ready to become chuunin?" the eldest sister chanted and they ran towards the Cathedral.

XXX

(now O.o since I haven't updated in foreve,r I'm giving you some NejiTen fluffyy)

The cathderal looked like a nice church...but it was kinda huge, and shaped in a square. Two stories high and the top was flat, with a large golden cross on it.

Neji, Lee and TenTen were now in the top floor of the cathedral where it was like a really large bunker with bunk beds all around the edges.

They had recently cleaned up with a nice shower and they were just all relaxing and waiting.

Neji and Lee were playing a game of cards, and TenTen was brushing her hair and watching. Lee and Neji were playing a best out of 5 game, where Neji won the first two easily. '

Lee saw his strategy and beat him in the third game. In the fourth game, Neji was a single move away, but Lee got lucky enough to win. Now here, it towards the end of the game and even.

"GO FISH!" screamed Neji as Lee picked up a card from the deck. Neji grinned at Lee...he had only a card left. "Got any 7s?"

Lee mumbled something about youth not shining off of me and handed Neji the 7 and Neji jumped up and walked off. "

"You were playing Go Fish?" asked TenTen, her hair out and still being combed as she sat next to Neji on his bunk.

Her hair out looked amazing, it was curled and went right past her shoulders. Though it was completely tangled and nappy, but it was starting to get soft.

"Yeah," he said while taking out a ninja anatomy book and flipped to the middle of the book and layed down.

TenTen laid down next to him while Lee went outside to train for the battles that was taking place. It was the night of Day 4, around 11:00 as she took Neji's hand in hers.

Neji smiled up a bit from this and he felt like he belonged there. TenTen felt warm and pulled into Neji's chest while she fell asleep right there.

Neji continued reading for an hour before he fell asleep.


	8. Gaara's Student Shines

The basement of the cathedral was huge...I mean, it was just like a nice wide area of shiny wooden floor...like a school gym, but softer.

\It was soft wood...you could sleep on it if you wanted to. Then on the top was a second level and it was like the arena in Konaha, where you could look down on the fighters and what not.

Though the only way to get up there were some ropes, not stairs.

Everybody was gathered in the middle, there were six teams there in total...and that meant only one less team then the half. The expected rate was four...so this was a smart group of kids, right?

The proctor for this round was a man, he was a tall man, with a black chiseled beard and black nice hair. Then he had on a nice pinstriped white suit. He was the kage advisor.

"Attendance," he chimed as he looked at the list of teams who were checked in. He scanned over the first squad, Kirigakure, Hong Mei Lin, Kai and Kyo Moshi.

Then there was Sunagakure, Temari, Kankuro and Gaara Sabaku. Then Matsuri, Ayame and Shiro. Then three Konaha squads, he checked down all of their names and he nodded. "18 people, interesting."

He walked around them. "Well, all of guys competed in the chuunin exams, except Team Suna 02? Captain, Shiro?" he looked towards them and the confident boy nodded, unsure of what to say now. "

Alot of you in the same year, the one that took place a year before this one. Team Kiri participated in the one 6 months beforehand and only Miss Ling got to the final round," she rolled her eyes.

"Well, 18 people, that'll mean 9 battles. Important people will be at the final round, so we can't embarrass them with mediocrity and with drawing on battles. So preliminary battles.

Now, now. I don't like randomness, so I'm going to make my battles," he took out a deck of cards and Kai gasped. "THOSE ARE MINE!"

He grinned. "I discarded them from you a minute ago...and from this cards I'll make the battle. Five minute break, don't wonder out of this room,"

He snapped and disappeared and Kai kept cursing the guy out while everybody tried to get some last minute training done, like push-ups, or handseals or weapon training, ect.

In five minutes, the list of battles was posted up and Matsuri looked nervous to see that her battle was first.

Matsuri of the Sand vs. Kai of the Mist

Ino of the Leaf vs. TenTen of the Leaf

Neji of the Leaf vs. Kankuro of the Sand

Shiro of the Sand vs. Shino of the Leaf

Sakura of the Leaf vs. Ayame of the Sand

Hong Mei of the Mist vs. Chouji of the Leaf

Hinata of the Leaf vs. Kyo of the Mist

Lee of the Leaf vs. Temari of the Sand

Gaara of the Sand vs. Kiba of the Leaf

XXX

Gaara looked at the battle field where Matsuri was wrapping bandage around her fists and Kai was just staring at her evaluation card, comparing it to his.

Even though he didn't look like it, Gaara was worried, and Temari could tell. "Don't worry Gaara, you and I trained her fine," She stood right next to him, leaning over the railing as the match began.

Kai looked up. "OH! JusT BECAUSE WE DONT HAVE SPECIAL ABILTIIES WE GET PITTED TOGETHER?" He shut up when he was slapped really hard by Matsuri, and his neck got sent so much that away you heard a crack.

He held his neck and backed up while Matsuri got confident with a kunai.

Kai took this as a challenge and held out his kunai and sparks flew as the two kunais clashed against each other.

Matsuri slid backwards and breathed out softly, flipping her kunai by the shaft and stabbing forward while Kai dodged and threw his kunai.

Matsuri took this hit and charged for him as it cut through her long-sleeved winter fleece and blood drew...staining the once white shirt, but Matsuri kept going, her fist clenched and a kunai in each hand. Kai wasn't expecting this and braced himself as he got stabbed in the hips and hit to the ground.

Kai got up and was bleeding now...it was a war that she wanted, it was a war that she was going to get.

"HIDDEN MIST JUTSU!" he cast, screaming as Matusri stabbed him again, this time in his arm. He winced but the lower level was covered in a thick mist and neither of them could see through it.

Neji and Hinata were yelled at to activate their Byukugan to tell others what was going on.

Matsuri was moving faintly through the mist, trying to find a shadow amongst everything that was going on.

She needed to find his body and she had to be stealthy at that...or she was simply going to lose the battles regardless of what was going on. BAM! Was heard and Matsuri was seen flying in the air.

Matsuri hit the ground and felt her cheek, blood was trickling from her lip and Kai had his hand out to her. Matsuri took it and they both pulled with extreme force.

You know what happens next, right? They pull right into each other, but Matsuri, being more feminine and flexible, used her legs to kick off of his knees and did a backflip off of him.

As she flew through the air, he fell onto the ground and she landed easily and gracefully as she took out some shuriken and launched them at him.

He stood up and got hit by too and he grunted as the mist started to clear a bit and people could now watch what was going on.

The two fighters just stared each other down and got into position. Matsuri pushed forward and ran and Gaara nodded...he had taught her well.

Kai pounced on her and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her shoulder towards him with her left hand and taking his right hand and jerking it towards her.

Matsuri gasped and jerked her head to the left, leaning backwards into a bridge. Kai took this as a point and lifted his foot, driving it down hard and quick into Matsuri's stomach, causing her to gasp and cough out some blood.

Kai grinned...he knew this girl wasn't enough for him. He swiftly got up and all the smoke cleared and it showed him over Matsuri, who looked pale in the face and was turned on her side, coughing up some more blood.

He stood over her and just as the proctor was about to say something......

MATSURI POOFED INTO SMOKE!?!

Kai looked around, he was worried! In her place there was a large block of ice with "Loser," written in cursive. S

he had put on an act for this long, and he didn't even notice it!

All this time, Matsuri was hiding UNDER the railings, using chakra to crawl along the top like she was spidermen, and nobody noticed yet, until.............

MATSURI LEAPED WITH HER LEG FIRST.

Lee and Gai gasped...that was the Dynamic Entry! She used the tip of her toe and knocked Kai in the temple, but then rapidly she moved the bottom of her foot down and slammed it right into his skull.

Blood flew out of his nose quickly before he even fell to the ground and his face was even squished as he was hit. Hitting the ground with a thud, Matsuri stood there, panting...but she was grinning.

The proctor grinned. "MATSURI WINS!"


End file.
